...by GOD's abundant grace and mercies!!!
The survival training that I had just completed in Brunei was as tough or even tougher than I had expected. But I thank God that it's all over and I survived it. There are many things I would like to give thanks to God for:
WEATHER
"The rain would usually come in the late afternoon...4,5pm. It's been like that lately..." Or so the instructor said.
To put things in context, the weekend before departure to Brunei, I got a fairly deep cut on my ankle, which was sustained from a careless "encounter" with a drain. I was praying very hard that the wound would heal completely before I started my survival training but it did not. I was almost quite sure that wearing boots, being in the swamp and wet weather is the exact opposite of what a conducive condition for wound healing would be!
And so, I was a bit worried after hearing what the instructor said but I had confidence that God is ultimately in control. I asked God to give us good weather for the 3 days of survival training and 1 day of navigation and I was almost quite certain that God would answer because of the previous few days of fairly fine weather before the the actual training. However, on the evening before we were to go out for our survival training, it rained very heavily! And for just that one moment my confidence was shaken and I was anxious. Then God gently reminded me by this downpour that...
"Yes indeed, I the creator am in ultimate control of the weather. The fine weather that you have seen in the past few days and this heavy downpour that you now see comes by order from My throne. Do not be anxious."
At that point of time, I truely felt comforted and assured that my God is in control. That is all that mattered.
And guess what. Through out the entire survival training, it did not rain!! How real and great God is!
THE WOUND
As mentioned, the survival conditions that we were going into were not conducive for wound healing. And the most I could do to minimize an infection to my open wound was to get permission to bring fresh dressings, antiseptic cream and washing solution sufficient for the days that I would be in the jungle.
I went to see the medical officer (MO) with the intention of requesting a letter of authorization allowing me to bring those stuff required to keep my wound from a possible infection. (Just to elaborate, what we were allowed to bring in for the training was minimal and dressings and antiseptic cream and cleaning solutions were definitely not on the list.) When the MO saw my wound, he said that he did not want to let me go for the training as he was worried that I would get a more serious infection, melioidosis(btw, the wound was slightly infected when I saw the MO). I was thinking like.... WHAT!!!!!!! I came all the way to Brunei wanting to get the survival training over and done with and hoping never to step into the jungle in my army uniform again and now you are telling me that you don't want me to go!!! Wait a min... Wouldn't that mean I have to come back to Brunei again and it would delay my flight training? YES it would!!!! argh!!And whats more, I missed the aerospace for this s**t! okok stay calm, stay calm, pray, pray. And so I prayed to God Almighty that the MO would change his opinion and let me go for the training. Its a short 4 days and I don't want to have to come back to Brunei again, which would delay my flight training. God heard my prayer and answered it! All Praise to God!
Now I've got my dressings and all with me in the jungle and the most I could do was faithfully clean my wound and change my dressing at the end of each day just before I slept. Even before I went into the jungle for my survival training, I was praying very hard that God would preserve my wound and possibly even heal it. Understand this that for the 3 days I was in the jungle, my boots were soaked and my feet and wound were wet as well. In this kind of conditions, I wouldn't expect the wound to get better, much less, heal. When I looked at my wound every evening while changing the dressing, I did not know what to make out of it. I won't go into the details but it just looked white, wrinkled, messy and ...you get the idea. When the training came to an end and I was back in camp, able to leave the wound open to dry, I was totally amazed at what the wound had become. God had miraculously healed it and a scap had even formed! How powerful God is!
On retrospection, if my wound had healed before I started my training, I would not have seen God's power and glory! God's timing and plans are perfect! Perfect art Thou O LORD!
STRENGTH & RESOURCES
For survival, we were required to complete a given list of tasks. One of which was the building of a shelter. I would not go into the details of what I was to do but just know this that I needed lots and lots of logs and vines to complete these tasks. To cut the long story short, I was really behind time in the completion of my tasks as I wasn't able to find sufficient resources. Bear in mind that for we were not given any food until the third day when our tasks were complete. Strength was ebbing away slowly but surely. I prayed desperately to God for resources and strength to complete my tasks and God graciously led me to an area that had trees with the diameter I needed. After chopping almost 7-9 trees, which are 5-6m tall and 8-9cm thick, I thought the hardest part,chopping trees, was over. I was wrong. Bringing back these logs to my survival site was equally tough. It was really exhausting but God provided sufficient strength and I praise God for that. I completed my tasks just about the time when the instructor came in to assess. I really praise God for hearing my cry and providing the resources and strength for me to complete the tasks just in time!
If it was not for God's grace in providing the fine weather, I would have been drenched from head to toe every night as I only got the roof of my shelter up on the third day!! Great are you LORD!!!
"Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty..." -Psa 104
